Taking Risks and Breaking Rules
by Mi li ya mu
Summary: The Huns are slowly gaining forces and Shang is called up to recruit the old soldiers back and new ones as well. When Mulan returns to the army to train, a soldier happens to fall in love with her. Will Shang and Mulan's marriage be at risk?
1. Back at it Again

**Author's Note: **Just wanted to let any new readers know that all my Mulan stories (except one-shots) will be a sequel from the previous. I will make some references from the past stories, so in case you're lost, feel free to read my old stories. Again, I want to thank all my readers for their emails and reviews from my last two previous stories. You guys are simply amazing and urge me to write more. x3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Mulan or any characters from Mulan. I only own my fictional characters.

**Chapter 1: Back at it Again. **

It was a quiet and calm morning at the Li house where it was a breezy yet sunny day. Li Shang was out in the back of the house, tending the small farm they owned. Usually he would let his servants do this sort of work, but he was kind enough and gave them the weekend off. He simply wanted to have house to himself and Mulan for once. After all, Shang was given some time off from his duties as a General, and he would rather use his free time doing productive tasks and be around his wife. The sun began to beam harder as Shang worked around the field. He took off his shirt, revealing his very well toned abs and body and wiped his sweat with his shirt and continued working After working hard in the field for several hours, Shang was finally done and cleaned up his mess to retreat back to his house. Meanwhile, in the house, Fa Mulan was busy cooking and performing her household tasks. Li Xieng had gone away to visit to some relatives, which relieved Mulan in a way. Although Mulan and Xieng finally were getting along, she sometimes would be a bit of weight on Mulan's shoulders and couldn't quite get things done, since Xieng was critical of everything. Throughout the months, she was getting better at her cooking. No more burnt noodles or over salted porridge. She was finally getting it right. Mulan was humming to a song as she kept cooking until Shang came in back of her, and put his arms around.

"I missed you." he said playfully as he kissed her on the cheek.

Mulan smiled and kept cooking.

"I missed you too, Shang. Finished already?" she asked.

Shang nodded his head and began kissing her neck.

Mulan sighed and stopped cooking as she attempted to push Shang away.

"Not now, Shang."

Shang disregarded what his wife had told him and still kept kissing and nibbling on her neck. Mulan was able to break free from him and she turned around to face him.

"Seriously Shang, not now. Maybe some other time." she said dryly as she returned to cooking.

Shang groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Mulan, please. It's been almost a month." Shang pleaded. "Don't you think we've been holding back a little too long?"

Mulan and Shang hadn't been physically active in bed ever since the incident about Mei. Although she forgave him almost a month ago, she knew she had to teach him a lesson in a way. She obviously decided not to make love to her husband instead of letting me off the hook easily.

"I told you, whenever I'm ready." Mulan responded as she continued cooking.

Deep inside, Mulan desired Shang badly. Her skin ached to touch his. But she knew she couldn't give in to Shang so easily. However, Shang had sensed that Mulan couldn't hold back her own punishment. He knew that he could get her to give in today. He grabbed Mulan and brought her closer to him. Their eyes locked for a moment as both began to breathe hard. Shang cupped her face and tenderly kissed her as he cornered her against the wall. The tender kiss soon turned into a passionate one as Mulan felt Shang's toned body with her delicate hands. Mulan couldn't believe what she was doing. Her mind told her to break away from Shang, but her heart simply gave in to him.

Soon, the two of them broke their kiss off and gazed into each other's eyes. Shang grinned and knew he was able to get her where he wanted. Shang took her by the hand and led her to their bedroom. Once they were in the bedroom, Mulan and Shang engaged themselves once more into a passionate kiss. Mulan slowly began to undo Shang's belt, allowing him to remove his pants easily. He soon began to kiss her from her neck to her shoulder as he quickly untied her dress. He let her dress off to the ground as he lied her down in the bed. Mulan felt a rush of adrenaline as Shang explored her body with his lips and caressed her smooth legs. She called his name out softly and panted heavily as Shang aroused her more and more each time. Shang grinned as he heard Mulan call out his name louder and louder every time he teased her. Before anymore could happen, Mulan heard a noise from outside. She gestured Shang to stop, but Shang, who was already lost in the passion, continued.

"Shang, I think I heard something." Mulan whispered as she frowned.

Shang continued to attempt to arouse Mulan more and told her to ignore it.

"Shang, seriously. I think someone's at the door..." she told her husband as she began to sit up with Shang. Shang let out a long sigh.

"Mulan, you're killing the mood here." he said annoyed. Mulan hushed him as she carefully heard the noise.

"General Li!" cried out a voice from outside the house as the door was being knocked.

Mulan looked at Shang and whispered to him. "Shang, I think it's one of your soldiers."

Shang disregarded his wife and began nibbling on her neck once more. Mulan pushed him away and glared at him.

"Li Shang." she protested. "Seriously, I think it's one of your soldiers."

Shang groaned of frustration and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'll go see." he said dryly as he put back on his pants and shirt. He walked without enthusiasm to the door as he cursed under his breath. When he opened the door, a soldier stood outside, holding a scroll. Mulan was indeed right.

"General Li, Orders from the Emperor of China." the soldier said as he bowed to Shang and handed over the small scroll.

Shang bowed back and grabbed the scrolled, opened it, and began to scan through it.

"Is there an emergency?" Shang asked curiously.

The soldier shrugged and told him he was uncertain.

"Are you sure?" Shang asked the soldier attentively.

The soldier shrugged once more and told him that the Emperor demanded his presence at once. Shang let out a sighed and thanked the soldier for his service. As he closed the door he began to read the scroll slowly, feeding all of the words into his head.

"What happened Shang?" Mulan said as she came out from the bedroom, tying her long night robe.

"The Emperor wants to see me at once." he said as he groaned. Just knowing that he didn't get too far with Mulan upsetted him. But now he couldn't even try again because he had to go see the Emperor!

"Then what are you waiting for?" Mulan said as she giggled. "Go on, and get ready!"

Shang rolled his eyes as he walked into the bedroom to get ready. After putting on his armor and grabbing his sword, Mulan carefully placed the helmet on his head. Shang turned around and held Mulan's hand. He sighed again,

"Promise me tonight that -"

"Yes, Shang. Now go, go, go!" Mulan said as she cut off Shang.

Shang kissed her tenderly on her lips and bid her goodbye as he walked out of the house. Mulan from the door watched him mount his white stallion and take off. She wondered to herself, what exactly does the Emperor want to speak with him about?

A few hours later, Shang arrived promptly to the Imperial Palace. As he walked in, he could see the Emperor sitting on his chair, looking down at Shang from the stairs.

"Your Majesty." Shang said as he bowed down to the Emperor.

The Emperor chuckled as he got up and began walking down the stairs.

"What's with all the formality, General Li.? It's only us." The General joked as he met Shang face to face. Shang chuckled nervously and nodded.

"Is there anything I could assist you with?" Shang asked seriously

The Emperor let out a sigh and looked at Shang.

"The Huns are gaining forces again." he replied.

Shang closed his eyes and sighed. His memories of the Huns were not the greatest. After all, they were responsible for the death of his father.

"You need to recruit back the same soldiers from the last war he had with Huns." the wise man continued. "You and General Qing (I failed to mentioned in the story of before, General Qing is the Commander in Chief General of the army), as well as Chi-Fu, well write me a report in 2 weeks, of each and every soldier. The soldier with the most experience and that is number one in their class will be honored with a new military rank and will assist you in training the new recruits."

Shang nodded and promised to get his job done.

"I have already sent out notices to all the soldiers to report to the Wu Zhong Camp, tomorrow in the morning." he finished.

Shang quietly nodded once more.

The Emperor tilted his head and looked at Shang.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he joked again as he chuckled.

Shang chuckled nervously and told him he just wanted to show respect to him.

The Emperor sighed and shook his head.

"My child, I said no more formalities." he told Shang. "And that's an order."

Shang smiled and agreed as he walked with the Emperor to discuss the rest of the plans with him.

**Author's Note: Well, what do you think so far? Does it sound interesting? Please leave some feedback! =)**


	2. Duty

Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any character Mulan.

Chapter 2: Duty

Mulan changed back into her clothes after Shang had left to the Imperial Palace. She fixed the bed and tidied up the room a bit. She sat on the bed and sighed. She was worried about Shang.

_"What did the Emperor want to talk to him about?" _she wondered by herself.

She was worried that there was going to be a war again and that Shang would have to leave in order to get the soldiers ready for battle. She knew she wasn't going to be called up again. Although she was China's Hero, the thought of having a woman again in the army was unthinkable. She knew it wasn't right though, but Mulan knew that the army was something important to Shang. In a way, she didn't want to interfere, but a part of her wanted to. She quickly cleared her mind and forgot about the whole thing. She already was getting ahead of herself.

"_Maybe the Emperor just needed his assistance in something?" _she thought.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a beat drum. She stopped what she was doing and quickly left the house and approached the gates of her house. Carefully, she opened the gate and to her surprise, one of the Emperor's consuls was on his horse holding out a list with several soldiers by his side. Many people were by their gates, listening to the consul. She frowned and wondered what was going on. As she looked around, she recalled what had happened almost a year ago. She sighed as she squeezed her eyes shut.

_"The Huns have invaded China!" Chi-Fu cried out as he preached to the townspeople. "By order of the Emperor, one man from every family shall serve in the Imperial Army!"_

_The people gasped and whispered among themselves as Chi-Fu called out several family names._

_"The Fa family!" Chi-Fu cried out._

_"No!" Mulan whispered as she saw her father walk up to the soldier to receive his conscription notice._

_"I'm ready to serve to Emperor" Fa Zhou stated as he was going to reach over for his conscription notice._

_"Father you can't go!" Mulan cried out as she stopped her father._

_"Please sir" she pleaded the soldier. "My father has already fought for -"_

_"Silence!" Chi-Fu yelled out as he intervened. "You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence!"_

"Fa Mulan" called out the consul.

Mulan snapped out of her thoughts and looked around. The neighbors began to whisper and gossip about her as she walked slowly towards the consul. She bowed and looked at him with a very puzzled face as he handed over a scroll to her.

"Report tomorrow promptly to the Wu Zhong Camp, by noon." the consul said sternly.

Mulan nodded and bowed once more as she walked back in to her house. She carefully opened the scroll and read what was written inside.

_"Fa Mulan_

_Daughter of the Honorable Fa Zhou and Fa Li_

_is requested to serve for the Emperor of China once more in place of her father._

_She is to report promptly to the Wu Zhong Camp, tomorrow, by noon_

_to meet with General Li Shang and the rest of her soldiers._

_If she is to refuse to show up at the Wu Zhong Camp,_

_she will face the consequences of being punished by law."_

Mulan gasped as she finished reading her conscription notice. What could be happening that the Emperor is requesting for her to serve in the army again? There was no way she could turn this down. She would do anything to protect her father again. But then she thought to herself, she would be with Shang. She felt relieved in a way that she would be able to go off to war with him, and not fear that his life would be in danger. And at the same time, she would be able to carry on with her duties as a soldier. Mulan put away her notice in her dress and could not wait to tell Shang.

...

As the sun began to set, as Shang had finally arrived home. Mulan smiled from ear to ear as she heard his horse neigh from outside. She quickly set dinner on the table and waited for him to come inside. She placed her hand inside her pocket, reassuring that the conscription notice was with her. Shang came in, taking off his helmet, and sighed. It was a long day at the Imperial Palace, that all he wanted was some peace and tranquility.

"Mulan" he called out as she smiled and looked at his wife.

"How did the meeting go with the Emperor, Shang?" she responded as she took his helmet and walked towards the room.

"It was pretty long and busy." Shang replied as he began to take off his armor.

"What was it about?" she said smiling as she helped him take off his armor.

Shang sighed and looked at her as he placed his armor down.

"Well, for starters, the - hey, did you make lo-mein?" he asked curiously as he began to sniff.

Mulan nodded her head proudly and smiled. This was the first time she was doing lo-mein by herself and she was urging for Shang to try it. She grabbed Shang's hand and led him to the dining room. As they both kneeled and ate their food, Shang complimented her on lo-mein and rice, and was impressed that she did it by herself.

"So, you never told me what happened." Mulan said as she sipped her cup of tea.

Shang swallowed his food and drank down some tea.

"Well, the Emperor informed me that Huns are gaining forces and are planning to attack once again." he said as he was finishing up his food.

Mulan's eyes widen. The Huns? How could it be? After all, she took down their leader...

"We're apparently rounding up all the soldiers from the first war and -"

"I have some news for you." Mulan said eagerly as she cut off Shang from speaking.

Shang looked at Mulan very puzzled and asked her what was the news.

_"Perhaps, Mulan is finally pregnant!" _Shang thought to himself as he smiled and looked at Mulan.

"Is it what I think it is?" he asked innocently.

Mulan smiled and nodded.

Shang hugged Mulan and kissed her.

"I can't believe it!" he cried out.

"Neither could I!" she responded. "Now I'll get to see some of the guys, practice my Kung Fu -"

Shang broke away from Mulan and frowned.

"The guys? Kung Fu?" he questioned Mulan.

"Well yeah, I mean that's why I suppose we're going to do after I received the conscription notice." Mulan replied as she handed over her scroll.

Shang took the scroll and quickly scanned through it. He groaned and closed his eyes as he put the scroll down.

"Mulan, you can't go." he said seriously.

Mulan raised her eyebrow and glared at Shang.

"And why not?" she questioned.

Shang sighed. He didn't know how to tell Mulan that he didn't want her being in the army.

"Mulan..." he began."The army life is not for you. It's not safe. And you're going to be around men. I can't give you special privileges because you're my wife. Bottom line is that, I'm going to request the Emperor to place another soldier to fight in your place."

Mulan looked at Shang in disbelief. Who was he to order her around?

"Excuse me Shang, but I happen to be an experienced soldier." she said as she got close to Shang. "And I saved your ass, didn't I?"

Shang groaned again and took a deep breath.

He didn't know how to put this issue lightly.

"Look Mulan, it just wouldn't look right that the General's wife is fight by his side. Wives have to stay at home, not serve the Imperial Army." he stated

Mulan stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"It happens to be that I'm not the typical wife, Shang. I am different. I am a soldier. And as a soldier, I have a duty and my duty is to serve the army. "she sternly.

Shang stood up and met Mulan face to face.

"Mulan, you're not going and that's final" he said.

"Who are you to be ordering me around?" she replied as she raised her voice.

Shang cursed under this breath and turned around.

"You're not going. End of story. And that's an order from your GENERAL." he said firmly.

Mulan was astonished. Why is he doing this? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Well, GENERAL, I hope you'll find somewhere to sleep tonight, because you're not sleeping anywhere near me!" she yelled as she stormed off to her bedroom.

Shang attempted to go after her, but she slammed the door in his face.

Shang sighed again. He didn't mean for this argument to go that far.

_"Why am I screwing things up lately?" _he asked himself. _"All I wanted to do was protect her."_

Shang didn't want Mulan to get hurt during the war. He wanted to do anything that was possible to protect her from anything. He recalled the time when she was wounded by Shan-Yu. Just the thought of the made scared him. He also didn't want her interacting with so man men. After all, everyone knew she was a woman. Perhaps any of them can come on to her.

Bottom line was that he simply didn't want anything to happen to his wife.

**Author's Note: Well? How was this chapter? Please pardon some grammatical mistakes. I really didn't proofread nor spell check.  
****I felt bad writing this chapter because I'm making Shang seem like an ass (AGAIN). We all know he isn't. x3 Nevertheless, my whole point here is make him a bit overprotective about her since he fears of anything bad happening to her because he would carry that guilt in his conscience, but he's a dude, and he doesn't think before he talks. lol. So, don't be too hard on Shang here. **

**To anyone who has emailed me, I will reply soon! I have to make time to sit down and read them carefully! Thanks for understanding!**


	3. Surprise, Surprise

Author's Note: I would to thank you all for reading my story again and following through this whole saga. You guys are the best and what keep me going. Just wanted to drop a line about this whole review thing. Obviously, not many will like my story and many of you will. I always love receiving constructive criticism, especially since it can improve my work, but flaming my work AND being anonymous isn't going to get anyone anywhere. I honestly think it's very childish, immature, and of course COWARDLY. Nevertheless, my whole point is, if you don't like what you're reading, click the x that it's in the right corner and get to stepping. =) And for many who have asked; Yes, I will most definitely continuing writing. Writing is one of my greatest passions, especially if it's about Mulan, who's been my childhood hero, role-model, memory, etc. I'm not going to stop writing over one flamer, that's just a bit absurd, ain't it? But regardless of everything, I hope you all enjoy what I am writing and what I have coming up soon. Thanks again to all my readers for your support and **cao ni zuzong shiba dai**to the flamers. (I've been learning swear words, one too many...Kiddies, don't repeat that. Not even I know what that means .)

Now I'll shut up and let you read my next chapter. xD Sorry it's short though.=/ I'm braindead today.

"_It's easier to climb down a mountain then to climb up to it. However the view is better at the top."_

I read that in my Fortune Cookie. xD (I seriously need to lay off the Chinese food...)

_Miliyamu_

**Chapter 3: Surprise, Surprise**

The sun had not even begun to rise and General Li Shang was already at the stables getting ready to leave. He had to arrive there first with the other generals and Chi-Fu before the soldiers would arrive. He didn't get a chance to bid farewell to his wife, but he had left behind a long and detailed letter apologizing for his actions from last night and promised to keep in touch with her through letters. As he rode off to the Wu Zhong Camp, his thoughts were solely about last night. He felt horrible about the bickering and argument he had with Mulan, but he only wanted to protect her. What would he do if his wife was injured during battle? What if she even died there? He would carry that in his conscience. Although he was divided between his duty as a General and as husband, inside he felt bad for not letting Mulan coming along. After all, as she had told him, she was, and still is, an experienced soldier, especially after saving China. She would be a great addition to his army, but he simply didn't want anything to happen to her.

After arriving to the Wu Zhong Camp, Shang had a long meeting with the other generals and Chi-Fu. The strategy for Shang was to train his soldiers again. For two weeks, whoever outshined their fellow soldiers with their exquisite martial arts and was number one of their class, would be awarded a new rank and help train the new recruits. The soldiers were not to be alerted about this because the Generals had to see how had the most potential and best effort overall. After the meeting, the sun already had risen, a couple of familiar faces began to show up. After a few hours, Shang began to assign tents to each of the soldiers and gave them instructions on today's trainings. As Shang was going through the list, he saw Mulan's name on the list. The day had barely begun, and he missed her already. He sighed sadly and crossed her name out of the list and began to walk back to his tent.

"Hey General!" called out an off-key voice.

Shang turned around and it was Ling, along with Yao and Chein-Po. The three of the walked up to the general and bowed.

"General Shang, where's Mulan?" Ling asked curiously

"Yeah" added Yao in his rough voice, "She was supposed to show up. "

Shang cleared his throat and began.

"She was ordered not to come." he said firmly.

"Why not?" the clan of three began to protest.

Shang didn't like the fact that they were questioning him so much. He felt guilty.

"As General, I ordered her not to come." he responded. "Now if you will excuse me, I have other affairs to take care of."

Li Shang walked back to his tent as the three men began to complain.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Ling complained.

"Perhaps the General is upset about something." Chein-Po added. defending the General.

"Yeah well that doesn't mean he has to snap at us." Yao shot back.

Suddenly before the three could continue complaining, they heard the galloping of a horse. Both turned around and it Mulan and Khan.

"Mulan!" the three yelled out as they ran towards her.

Mulan pulled back her rein and stopped Khan. Many soldiers began to surround her as she dismounted her horse. Mulan was in her father's armor again, with her father's sword tied to the right side of her belt, her hair tied into a bun, and holding the helmet, that had supposedly belonged to her father, on her other hand. Mulan greeted all the soldiers happily as she chatted with each briefly.

"We thought you weren't supposed to be here!" Ling exclaimed as he made his way through the crowd of soldiers.

Mulan laughed and looked at Ling.

"Not if I don't have a conscription notice" she said as she pulled out the small scrolled and smiled.

All the soldiers gave her a warm welcome overall and were excited to see her.

"So where's my tent?" she asked curiously as she looked around.

"It's that one!" Chein-Po said as he pointed to the tent near to the General's.

She was surprised to have been placed practically near Shang. Perhaps they wanted him to keep an eye on her?

"Who am I sharing it with?" she asked.

"No one" Yao said.

Mulan shrugged and walked to her tent as she pulled Khan along with her. She tied her black stallion to the nearest tree and placed all her belongings into her small tent. She was excited yet a bit nervous about being at the Camp. She didn't know how Shang was going to react, after all she had deceived her commanding officer. She sighed as she removed her armor and put on her training clothes.

_"Maybe he won't recognize me?"_ she questioned herself.

Nope. That's way too absurd. Shang was a man, but he was an alert man. He could easily distinguish his wife now, even if she were disguised as Ping.

"Soldiers!" she heard Shang cry out from outside of her tent. She heard the rapid footsteps lining up quickly into a straight line. Mulan left her tent quickly and joined the rest of her fellow soldiers.

"It's great to see you all back again." Shang said as he paced slowly back and forth. "But now it's time to get down to business. The Huns will be approaching us soon and we need to train ten times harder than last time. We will assembly quickly and silently every morning. We will train from dawn to sunset for two weeks straight. Anyone has ANY questions?"

"No sir!" the soldiers cried out.

Shang removed his shirt and hung it on the many bamboo sticks.

"We will start with the first training task." he said as he grabbed his bow and arrow.

He pointed his arrow towards the top of pole and fired it with ease.

"Any volunteers?" he asked sarcastically.

"The bronze weights are waiting for any of you" he said he pointed to the weights that sat by the pole.

"Great. We're back with our arrogance." Mulan mumbled to herself.

Shang walked in back of the soldiers and questioned again them once more. As Shang began to get near , Mulan slouched a bit so Shang wouldn't see her.

"Ah, I see I've found my volunteer." Shang said as he tapped the back of Mulan's shoulder.

Mulan gulped hard. It's been a while she had done the pole exercise.

Mulan walked up to the pole and grabbed the weights. She tied them around the pole and began to climb up. However, she had lost her stability and fell down. Shang shook his head and sighed.

"Out of shape." he said sternly.

Mulan got up again and gave it another try, but no luck. She fell down once more.

"This is unbelievable." Shang said disgusted.

"I had trained all of you for this. This clearly show none of you have any potential for the army. You are all out of shape!" he scolded as he face the many soldiers.

Mulan narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

"I'll show you out of shape." she mumbled to herself as she got up.

She tied the weights again to the pole and began to climb up. Determined to reach to the stop, she tuned off her husband who kept scolding the soldiers. Discreetly, the soldiers began to look at Mulan reaching the top of the pole and were gasping.

"Every morning, we will work twenty times harder and -"

Shang was cut off from speaking as an arrow landed by his feet. He looked up and saw a small figure sitting on top of the pole smiling. The soldiers cheered Mulan on as she smiled proudly on top.

"Soldier, get down here." he commanded.

Mulan slowly began to make her way down the pole and clumsy fell on her bottom. She got up and brushed off her uniform.

"Well done soldier, I - MULAN?" Shang exclaimed.

Mulan looked up and smiled at Shang.

"Out of shape, huh? Betcha you were surprised." she said as she crossed her arms.

"You weren't supposed to be here!" he exclaimed

"Surprise, surprise" she said sarcastically.

Shang groaned. How could she have not stayed home?

"Mulan, I ordered you not to-"

"Have you been working out?" she asked curiously as she Shang's arms.

Shang rolled his eyes and glared at Mulan.

"You weren't supposed to be here. " he said dryly.

Mulan smiled again and handed over her conscription notice.

"According to the Emperor, I am." she replied as she began to walk back to the line.

Shang sighed and groaned once more.

His wife was simply stubborn.

How could she have not listened to him?

Well, there was no going back now. She's here. And no one, I mean no one, could take her out of here now.

Author's Note: This chapter turned out like crap, but leave me some feedback xD


	4. Week One

**Author's Note**: I apologize for not updating any sooner. I have been quite busy and getting addicted to Facebook games as well. lol. This chapter was pretty short, so it must be like my 2nd worst so far, but I do hope you guys enjoy it.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Mulan or any of the characters from Mulan.

**Chapter 4: First Week**

After the first day of training, Mulan was indeed tired and worn out. Shang was right, she was out of shape. Not just her. All the troops. In spite of her climbing the pole, practicing archery, and kung fu practicing successfully, she still felt like she couldn't take it anymore. Her whole body ached and felt shooting pains everywhere. She limped her way to her tent as she breathed. She grabbed her sides as her old battle wound began to hurt. She stopped and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the burning pain.

"Need some help?" asked a voice from behind.

Mulan turned her head and saw an unfamiliar soldier. He was a tall, built man, with very rough features. His green eyes were the only soft feature he had. He had neither mustache nor a beard and was about her age. She really couldn't recall who he was. Actually, she had never even remembered him from the previous war. _Was it that long ago?_

"its fine." she said with pain in her voice and began to walk again. She groaned painfully once more as she began to lose her balance as she walked. The soldier quickly grabbed her before she fell.

"Weak ankles, eh?" he asked as he smiled.

"Nah. It's just my old battle wound. It hurts every now and then." she answered.

"Well, I'm here to help." the man said kindly

Mulan smiled and thanked the man.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." she said reassuringly.

She began to walk again, but suddenly dropped to her knees from the pain. She let a cry out from the pain and held on to her stomach. The soldier ran to her aid immediately.

"This doesn't look fine to me." he said sarcastically.

Mulan shot him a dirty look as she continued to grab on to her stomach.

"Oh just help me up." she said annoyed.

The soldier helped Mulan up and walked her to her tent. Once he reached to the tent, he helped Mulan lay down on her bed and lit a candle near her. He handed Mulan some damp cold towels she had, to soothe her pain. As she saw the acts of generosity of the soldiers, she squinted her eyes and examined his face. Why couldn't she recall him? Finally, to kill her anxiety she questioned him.

"Have we met before?"

The soldier shook his head no.

"So...you were from the late General Li's troops?" she questioned again.

"No, I'm new. I just joined the army, in place of my older brother." he answered back as he fixed around several stuff in Mulan's tent. "You fought with my brother, Shao."

Mulan then remembered Shao. She really didn't have much memories of him, but she did remember he came from a very honorable family. The last news she ever heard from Shao was that he had become a very sickly man.

"Oh yes" she replied. "I remembered your brother. So that explains why I didn't see him at practice." she said as she scratched his head.

The soldier nodded quietly.

There was an awkward silence between both until Mulan spoke up again.

"I'm Fa Mulan" she introduced herself as she began to sit up. "Well, Li Mulan. Call me either."

The soldier smiled and bowed.

"I'm De Wei." he replied back. "It's a pleasure to meet the Hero of China."

Mulan blushed and smiled.

"So, why weren't you at practice?" she said as she switched topics.

Wei explained to Mulan that the new soldiers were given a basic training on the other side of the Wu Zhong Camp and that in two weeks a Lieutenant was suppose to come and train them for battle. The real work.

"A lieutenant, huh?" Mulan said as she rubbed her chin.

Mulan hadn't remember any lieutenant that was suppose to train the new recruits. That was usually Shang's job. Before Mulan could even ask more questions, she heard someone clearing his throat.

"Ahem."

Mulan and Wei looked up; it was Li Shang. De Wei stood up quickly and saluted and bowed to the general.

"Don't you have a tent of your OWN?" Shang asked with a nasty attitude.

Wei, still bowing to Shang, nodded his head.

"Then get back to your tent, soldier. That's an order." Shang commanded.

"Yes sir." Wei responded as he saluted his general and left the tent without saying goodbye to Mulan. After watching Wei leave, Shang turned around and glared at Mulan. She looked at him with innocent eyes, as if she hadn't done anything wrong.

"What?" she asked.

Shang stayed silent and raised his eyebrow as he continued to glare at her. Mulan looked at him oddly. Then it clicked to her.

Shang was _jealous_.

She began to laugh and fell back on her bed.

"You're ridiculous!" she said as she continued to laugh. "You think - Wei? - Me?" Mulan kept laughing hysterically.

"It's not funny Mulan." he said seriously.

Mulan continued to laugh. It was the first time she had seen her husband get so jealous. The whole matter just simply amused her.

"Are you done?" he asked sarcastically.

Mulan stopped laughing and wiped her tears from laughing so hard. She caught her breath and stood again. Holding back her laughter, she nodded and smiled.

"Mulan, you can't have soldiers coming in and out of your tent. It's not right." Shang said sternly.

Mulan rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Shang, its fine. Nothing's going to happen. I can defend myself. I'm no ordinary woman." she replied.

"But I think it's cute that you're jealous" she cooed.

Shang sighed and sat by the edge of the bed. He took a deep breath and remained patient.

"I know that and NO I'm not jealous." he said as he rolled his eyes. "But this is a training camp. Rules are rules."

Mulan smirked at Shang and ignored him. An awkward silence grew between both.

"Training starts by dawn." Shang said as he stood up. "Don't forget."

Mulan nodded and laid down. As Shang began to walk out of the tent, he paused.

"Goodnight...wife" he said softly

Mulan stayed silent for a while.

"Goodnight...General Li." she responded as she closed her eyes.

Shang sighed and left the tent immediately.

Five days passed, and all the soldiers worked to their potential, Mulan showing the most consistence effort out of all. Each day, the solider practiced their Kung Fu moves for the seventh day, where they would test their skills by sparing a soldier.

"Partner up with a solider" Shang commanded to his soldiers as they grabbed their bamboo pole. The men began to wander around, picking their partners.

"I think you and I should spar." Shang told Mulan as he handed her over a bamboo pole

"It's fine General, really." she replied as she took the pole and began searching.

Shang sighed and crossed his arms.

"You do know, you're the only one without a partner." he said as he grinned.

Mulan looked around and he was right. She rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Fine..."

Shang smiled as he grabbed a bamboo stick for himself.

"Ready soldiers?" he cried out.

"Yessir!"

"Begin!"

Mulan rolled her eyes, and effortlessly, got into fighting position, compared to Shang who seemed ready to fight her.

"What's the matter? Don't want to spar your husband?" Shang said sarcastically.

Mulan rolled her eyes and muttered something.

"Oh I see, you're afraid that I'm going to beat you." Shang said as he grinned. "This is why you should've stayed home."

Mulan narrowed her eyes at him and gritted her teeth. She took her bamboo pole and swung it, aiming to hit Shang's head. Shang managed to duck before it even hit him.

"I've seen better.." he said teasing Mulan.

Before he had finished his sentence, Mulan began to spar Shang with more effort. Many of the soldiers had stopped sparring and stared with amazement at Mulan and Shang, who were at it for almost 20 minutes. Just the sounds of the poles clashing, excited the soldiers. Eventually, Shang kicked Mulan hard on her hand, disarming Mulan. He stopped and gasped as he had seen what he had done.

"I'm sorry!" he said apologetically.

Mulan looked over where her pole fell as she rubbed her hand.

"You can get it if you want..." Shang said softly.

Shang realized that although she was a soldier, she was his wife, therefore he was obligated to show mercy to her.

Mulan took a deep breath, and acting fast, she hit Shang hard in his stomach, causing him to lose his bamboo pole as well. Shang grabbed his stomach and groaned. He quickly got up and continued to spar his wife. He blocked a few hits from Mulan and vice versa. After more than thirty minutes, Mulan managed to do a spinning kick and knocked Shang off his feet. Shang fell hard on the floor, as Mulan pinned him down. The soldiers' jaws dropped and gasped as they saw Mulan take Shang down. They all cheered on their fellow female soldier loudly and clapped for her.

Catching her breath, Mulan looked her husband with angry eyes as Shang grinned, being pinned down.

"You know, you should be this aggressive in -"

"Shang!" she protested. Mulan got up, releasing Shang.

"Good job, Mulan. " he said as he patted her on the back.

Mulan smirked and nodded as she walked away. Seeing his wife, retreat back with the rest of the soldiers for lunch, the young General sighed. Not only has she been indifferent with him, but he felt guilty. Guilty of letting Mulan win.

He knew he was going to kick her in the stomach to disarm him.

He knew she was going to do that spinning kick to pin him down.

But he simply couldn't hit his wife.

But he rather spar with her than having her to spar with another man. A man that could actually hit her, punch her...

He was only doing this to protect her...after all, she is his wife.

**Author's Note: I apologize for this chapter being very tres LAME. I've been working on it for quite a while but have been interrupted every time I was writing. My train of thought was cut off. =/ So what do you guys think so far? I know it sounds pretty boring now, but it'll get better soon. **

**Also;**

**I won't be updating as fast as before. Unfortunately, I am beginning my school year this coming Monday and since it is indeed my last year in high school (yes, I'm a senior), I will busy these months with college applications and a bunch of crazy deadlines. School is a major priority to me and I really hope all of you understand. But not to worry, I WILL make an effort to update on weekends and holidays. :) So keep an eye out for my updates. ;) After all, I love writing and you guys are what keep me going. :) I will happily answer emails here.**

**Thanks for understand! Love you guys!**

**xxoo**

_**Miliyamu.**_


	5. Temptations

**Author's Note: Thank you to all my readers for supporting me in my stories. Unfortunately, I have been receiving anonymous reviews from a certain basher. To clarify everything, these stories are SOLELY mine and only mine. I have planned these stories for many months now, and I think it's very disrespectful to be accused that I'm plagiarizing. I think I'm old enough and mature enough that plagiarizing is IMMATURE, DISRESPECTFUL, and CHILDISH. But nevertheless, I WILL continue to write my stories. If you think my stories are too cheesy, well there's always that x button for you to click out from. =) **

**Anyway;**

**I apologize for not updating any faster and for this being yet again a short chapter. But enjoy...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any character from Mulan. The idea of my story is SOLELY mine. **

**Chapter 5: Temptations.**

One week of training had passed and already had the soldiers been whipped back into shape thanks to Shang. For the soldiers, there was only one week remaining of training and things began to look much more difficult during practice. During the second week, the soldiers focused on a more intense Kung Fu fighting, archery and sword fighting. Li Shang, in every way, did the impossible to protect his wife. Instead of allowing her shoot two arrows at the same time, like the rest of the soldiers, he only allowed Mulan to shoot one. When it came to sword fighting, Mulan was only allowed to fight with Shang. Mulan eventually began to grow tired of his over-protectiveness. She'd rolled her eyes constantly and cursed under her breath every time.

One day, during the middle of the week, Shang had announced there was going to be the last session of intense Kung-Fu and sparring practice. Initially, Mulan had agreed with one of the soldiers to be her sparring partner, but before Mulan could approach her partner, Shang had grabbed her by her hand and pulled her to a spot to spar.

"This should be a good spot. No chance of you getting hurt here." Shang said as he handed over to her a bamboo stick.

Mulan sighed as she grabbed the stick. She didn't want to spar again with _him. _ His over protectiveness was way too much for her. She didn't want to offend him by saying she already had a partner, but she knew that if she didn't do this sooner or later, before matters would get worse.

"Shang...I already have a partner." Mulan said uncomfortably.

Shang automatically frowned and looked at Mulan with disappointmet. Mulan knew that he wasn't going to take the news lightly. She slowly began to back away and walked away, but before she could walk any further, Shang grabbed Mulan once more.

"Mulan, I don't want you getting hurt." he pleaded.

Mulan bit her lip as she saw Shang's concerned eyes lie upon her. She removed his hand from hers and reassured Shang she was going to be fine.

"Mulan" he called out again.

"I'll be FINE, Shang." Mulan retorted as she walked towards her partner.

Shang sighed as he watched his wife chat with the solider. There was nothing else left for him to do. She was simply stubborn. Without any enthusiasm, he ordered the soldiers to begin sparring. Throughout the course of sparring he didn't bother looking at any of his troops sparring, but Mulan. Mulan and the soldier clashed their bamboo sticks and began sparring. Clearly, it was shown that Mulan had a hard match up, as she sweated and grunted numerous times. At one point, the soldier hit Mulan in the stomach, causing her some pain. Mulan dropped to her knees and held her stomach. Shang immediately was going to go after her, but Mulan managed to get up quickly before she got pinned down. After half an hour of sparring, the two soldiers still were sparring. However, the soldier was able to disarm Mulan. As much as Mulan tried to disarm him, she had no luck. The soldier managed to swing his pole towards Mulan's legs, causing her to fall on her back. The soldier walked towards Mulan, ready to pin her down with his bamboo pole, but before he was able to do that, Mulan kicked him hard in the stomach, disarming him this time. Mulan swiftly got up and grabbed his bamboo pole and hit him right on his ankles, causing him to fall to the ground. She pinned him down quickly as everyone cheered the young warrior on.

"Great match. You're pretty tough." said the soldier as he laid on his back smiling at her.

Mulan thanked the man and smiled back and released him. Everyone complimented Mulan on her great tactics for sparring, however, Shang wasn't pleased. The way that soldier smiled at her and the fact he hit her! Mulan noticed the anger that was clouding upon her husband. Before he could do anything drastic, Mulan approached him to calm him.

"Are you okay?" Shang immediately asked as Mulan was in front of him.

"I'm fine Shang." she replied "stop worrying"

Shang rolled his eyes at that statement.

"How could I not worry?" he told Mulan. "You could've gotten seriously hurt "

Mulan was losing her patience. Why couldn't he stop being so overprotective? It was making her seem like an incompetent soldier. It's enough with the jokes and gossip she goes through it with the rest of the guys. She had to put an end to it already.

"Could you please stop being so damn overprotective?" she said annoyed as she rolled her eyes.

The soldiers soon turned around to see what was going on with the spouses. Shang narrowed his eyes at her. He knew he wasn't being overprotective. He just want to keep his wife from being harmed.

"I'm only trying to keep you from getting hurt!" he retorted

"Well I don't 'need' your help, Shang" Mulan snapped back.

Shang was losing his patience as well. How could she not appreciate his kindness towards her?

"I'm only fulfilling my duty as a husband." he angrily.

"You can tone it down a bit General!" she said she scoffed.

"At least I'M fulfilling my duty as a spouse unlike someone!" he answered back nastily.

Mulan eyes widen as she looked at her husband with disbelief. How dare he say that to her! Who was he to tell her how to act or how good of a spouse she was? She was definitely disappointed in Shang's choices of words.

"Some spouse you are." Mulan muttered as she walked away.

Shang had regretted what he had told his wife. He call for her several times, but she refused to even speak to him. For the rest of the day, Mulan had avoided Shang. He wanted to apologize to her, but she simply didn't want to hear his petty excuses. Night fell, and every soldier reported back to their tents. Shang knew this was the only chance he had to talk to her and made his way to her tent.

"What are you doing here?" Mulan questioned Shang as he stood by the entrance of her tent.

Shang pleaded for her to let him stay and give him a chance to talk. After pleading and begging several times, Mulan allowed him for him to explain himself. Shang sat by the edge of Mulan's bed and took a deep breath before he began.

"I apologize for everything I have said that offended you." Shang began.

Mulan nodded her head, gesturing him to continue.

"I know I shouldn't have said that. It was disrespectful. I just didn't want you to get hurt...and I seriously don't have a problem with you being here. I enjoy having you around."

Mulan smiled and drew closer to her husband. She placed her hand on top of his and smiled once more.

"I guess it's nothing I should stress then. If you didn't mean it, then I can forgive and forget. But you need to stop worrying. I'll be fine. You can't always protect me. Once we'll go off to war, you can't control what will or what won't happen. I'm an experienced soldier. I know what in doing." Mulan told her husband.

Shang nodded, agreeing to her statement. Mulan smiled at Shang and told him how much she loved him. She leaned over and engaged into a passionate, yet romantic kiss that both had been longing for. Shang was caught in the passion and had pulled his wife closer allowing her to wrap her legs around him. Both wanted one moment of intimacy. It had been too many months that they both hadn't done anything. Shang had been waiting for this moment, as much as Mulan, but there was one thing that clouded upon Mulan. This was a camp, not their bedroom. Mulan quickly pulled away from Shang and stood up.

"Not now. It's not the right time." Mulan whispered to her husband.

Shang insisted for the two of them to continue with their night of passion, but Mulan refused. She took her towel and told Shang she was off to the river for evening bath. But that kiss shook Shang up. He couldn't help himself. He needed her. He wanted her. Now. He left the tent immediately to follow Mulan. There he saw his wife, slowly undressing herself, to get into the river. Wasting no time, he removed his robe, and went after Mulan. He grabbed Mulan by her wrist and pulled her closer to him. He felt his warm rough skin against her delicate porcelain skin. He began kissing her passionately once more, as she started to give in to him. Mulan simply thought he wanted a quick passionate moment and gave in to his kisses. But as soon as Shang laid her down to the grass, her thoughts began to change. She knew what his intentions were. Shang was lost in his own lust to even realize that Mulan was attempting to push him away. He held down by force as he continued with his lustful actions.

"Shang, stop!" Mulan pleaded.

After pleading several times, Shang lost his patience.

"Mulan, both of us want this." he managed to say as he began to get annoyed. 

Mulan kept refusing to give in and attempted to stop Shang.

"Mulan, you have no choice...this is an order!" he claimed.

Mulan looked at him with disbelief. An order? Since when is making love an order? Once more she attempted to break free from Shang, who had her pinned down. Shang was getting furious by Mulan's reaction. Why did he keep rejecting him?

"Be my wife for once!" he said angrily as he looked at her.

Mulan gasped at Shang. How dare he say that to her? For over 6 months, she had done her best to be the ideal wife. Although, she hadn't bore him any sons and both of them had many differences, she always made an effort to make him happy. She didn't manage to respond to statement. Her eyes soon began to swell up with tears and let them roll down her face. Shang realized his wife had no intentions of doing anything with him. He released Mulan and didn't say a word to her as she quickly got up and gathered her belongings. She retreated back to her tent and cried more. How could he act like this? What was the matter with him?  
These questions remained unanswered for Mulan as she wept quietly in her bed.

**Author's Note: Before we start attacking Shang...no he did not want to rape her. He kind of let his arousment take over his common sense and wanted Mulan to give in. In a way, show mercy for the guy, I mean, he hasn't gotten some for like MONTHS, even though he shouldn't had forced it upon Mulan. So it's kind of an in between thing. But yeah, don't hate me for this chapter. .**

**Also; I won't be updating until mid-October. I have LOTS of college applications to give in, essays, projects, etc. September-December are going to be my busiest months of all. However, I will continue on with this story and make time for it. I hope many of you won't give up on it. I have faith I will finish this before the school year ends. But keep an eye out for any updates. Things change and I may update earlier. =) **

**Special thanks to **

**Bao Li Na for helping me out in this chapter. =)**

**I-Love-Mulan13 for always supporting my story.**

**Imyourfreakingprincess and Tikisomia for the positive reviews!**

**& Harky for pointing out my grammatical errors.**


	6. Author's Note

Hey Everyone

I apperciate all the reviews and messages I'm recieving!

It makes me feel so happy and accomplished that many of you are enjoying my writings!

I apologize for not updating for awhile. I have been caught up in College Applications. =/

BUT STAY TUNED!

You never know when there'll be a little update. ;)

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT! 3

xoxo

- Mi li ya mu


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